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Community POTW #4

machamp, who really gained a lot in gen 4 thanks to no guard and much stronger attacks, is the fourth potw. not used as much now due to roobushin, it still is a great pokemon that's still a big threat.

You can go with a fair amount of strategies with Machamp, but I think it's easiest to just pick pieces from this list and stick with them. I can say right now that Steadfast is not going to see any use in the competitive environment, since it's not worth banking on a Waterfall or Fake Out flinch showing up.

For the ability, No Guard goes with Dynamic Punch, avoid using Dynamic Punch without No Guard.Use Guts if you are not using No Guard. No Guard does benefit Stone Edge also regardless, but Guts just offers too much of a boost to pass up, and can really save Machamp from Will-O-Wisp (Which is much more common this generation). For items, Life Orb or Choice Band. Pick your poison.

Moveset, Dynamic Punch has to rely on No Guard, while Cross Chop and Close Combat offer reliable alternatives. Earthquake and Stone Edge provide awesome coverage. For the last slot, you can either give Machamp Ice Punch to deal with Dragons, Grounds, Fliers, anything that would give it a remotely hard time. Bullet Punch on the other hand, while weaker, offers nice priority damage and coverage against Tyranitar, Weavile, and Frosslass (To name a few, though the coverage is already remote enough as it is). In most cases, Ice Punch is the better call.

Partners

Machamp can be used as a tool to set up No Guard for team-mates. So Purgatory, Zap Cannon, Blizzard, Thunder, Fire Blast, Stone Edge and Dragon Rush can be fired at will. Machamp's presence renders Hone Claws pointless in most situations. Houndoom, Victini, Charizard makes great use of the Purgatory No Guard combo, whilst Magnezone and Genosect use Zap Cannon No Guard.

Basically, super effective Psychic and Air Slash, Will-O-Wisp and bulky Water/Grass types work. Machamp lacks coverage against Waters without Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch is way more common for its Dragon coverage.

I've enjoyed using the Sub + 3 attacks set this generation, like I did in gen IV. It has a few more hard counters (Reuniclus is slower than you and doesn't really care about 50 base power Payback), but the uses of Substitute are huge- rather than predicting what's going to switch in and having to throw out a Dynamicpunch or whatever you can Sub and then deal with things.

The main problem I have with Machamp is that Fighting types are way too good this gen, and there's really stiff competition. Kojondo, Virizion, Terakion, Roobushin and Zuruzukin are all amazing new Fighting types, and Machamp's only real niche now is No Guard Dynamicpunch. I'd really advise against running a Guts set- you might as well be using Roobushin who has better stats and Mach Punch (though admittedly Ice Punch is great this gen with Gliscor everywhere!).

I'd recommend using Ice Punch as your third attack since besides Dynamicpunch it's another thing Machamp has over Roobushin- Gliscor, one of the most popular Fighting resists in the game, doesn't wall him. Stone Edge is an option, hitting Gyarados hard and Zapdos harder than Ice Punch, but I feel Payback and Ice Punch overall offer better coverage with Dynamicpunch.

The EVs give you a magic Leftovers number and allow you to outspeed 0 speed Blissey- Machamp's really too slow to bother outspeeding anything else, since he loses a lot of bulk just trying to outspeed Skarmory. You can convert as many SPDef EVs into Speed as you like, though, depending on how paranoid you are about 'speed creep' (where people put 4 evs into speed to outspeed things using 0 evs, then people put 8 evs to outspeed those using 4, then people put 12 evs in speed... etc.).

Machamp's pretty much unparalleled at causing switches; Substitute Machamp was famed for giving many teams trouble last gen, and it should prove equally effective this gen if you can find a place to fit him in your team.

Using Machamp along with entry hazards is strongly recommended, particularly Stealth Rock, which whittles down the HP of many part Flying Pokémon that come in trying to take a resisted Dynamicpunch. You might also want to try him with a solid Pursuit user, like Tyranitar or Scizor, since Machamp will very often draw out Psychic types as well.

As for counters: Machamp's best counter is, as always, Slowbro. Slowbro's immense defences can take everything Machamp can throw at him, especially since Payback is a mere 50 base power because Slowbro's so slow. Even the rare Thunderpunch does a mere 31%-36.5% to max HP/Def Relaxed Slowbro- Slowbro has two excellent abilities for dealing with Machamp as well, with Own Tempo nullifying confusion and the much more common and useful Regeneration allowing Slowbro to shake off any damage Machamp has caused it every time it switches out. Reuniclus is definitely worth a mention- immune to entry hazards which Machamp loves to have supporting him, the adorable floating foetus takes a dismal 24.5%-29.2% from Payback if Reuniclus runs 252HP/252Def Bold and he can dispatch Machamp with little effort. Max HP/max Def Bold Burungeru takes 41.1% - 48.7% from Payback as it breaks Machamp's Substitute but Boiling Water ought to scare Machamp away. Dusclops and Dusknoir both take little damage from Payback since they're slower and can KO Machamp slowly but steadily. It might be worth mentioning that the most popular bulky Ghost last gen, Rotom-A, has had a type change and no longer has Dynamicpunch immunity.

Machamp's other sets have kind of been overtaken, I feel. In particular, the Bulk Up set seems to just be done better by Zuruzukin and Roobushin this gen. Whatever, he's still a cool Pokémon and needs more love this gen.

This guy's speed will definetly surprise your opponent! You can take advantage of it by PWNing with strong moves or by crippling it for your next teamate.

Teamates: If you have Knock Down, A Claydol can easily take over, especially if the opponent is an annoying Zapdos (who looks like Big Bird). If Machamp has Level Ground, it can make it easy for a medium-speeded Pokemon to move in such as Flareon.

Counters: Watch out for scarfed flying and psychic types!!

Note: I typed this on a Wii, so please bear with any mistakes made on the movesets. Thanks.

@gm0000
i guess hp is also good depends on how u want to use him
this set has worked for me and i retested it on po so......
the 2 fighting moves give it something to use after dynamic runs out....
if you want ice punch is also good
however dark type moves are wasted on him with there low power

Machamp's Special Attack has never been anything to write home about, and it certainly doesn't have the movepool to do an all-special set. But now it actually has a means of boosting Special Attack, Cheer Up. Cheer Up also boosts Attack, so yeah. Stone Edge, DynamicPunch, Focus Blast, and Fire Blast are all there for the same purpose; high-power attacks that are guaranteed to hit. Stone Edge and DynamicPunch are practically staples on any Machamp set, and this is no exception. Well, since the set is also for Special attacking, Focus Blast can be subbed in, but Machamp might miss the 100% chance of confusing the opponent from DynamicPunch. And then there's Machamp's secret weapon- Fire Blast. Machamp's had access to Fire Blast from the start, and even in Generation IV I've had success using Fire Blast on a Life Orb No Guard Machamp. Works wonders on those pesky Steel types whose secondary typing and enormous Defense stats prevent the average Machamp from owning them. Springing readily to mind are Skarmory, Forretress, and to a slightly lesser extent, Scizor. Fire Blast handles them nicely, and that's without the Cheer Up boost. And even though the fact remains that Machamp's Special Attack isn't exactly world-class material, Machamp still achieves 376.5 Special Attack after one Cheer Up. Have that thing use Fire Blast (120 base power), and then there's the Life Orb boost to consider. Not to mention Machamp is in the unique situation of Fire Blast being guaranteed to hit.

This Machamp is more of a defensive nature. Bulk Up ups Attack and Defense, while Light Screen handles Special Defense. DynamicPunch takes advantage of No Guard to essentially become a damage-dealing Confuse Ray. Toxic also abuses No Guard to an extent, but Payback also works for coverage purposes.

This set has very nice coverage, access to all the elemental punches and one STAB move. This set isn't supposed to last very long, but it will hit like a tank.
Pros: Will OHKO most walls, if not all. Relatively bulky as well.
Cons: Slow. Possibly outclassed by Roobushin.

One thing to keep in mind is the nerf of Payback, it no longer hits switchins for 100 BP, which lowers it's usefulness a lot. It's best left for Sub sets that can throw that up on the switch. It does free up a spot on all attacking sets for BP.

Sadly it is yet again another poke that didn't change a lot in the 5th gen. It's Dynamic Punch and Stone Edge with No Guard set it apart from the new fighting types, so it still has it's well deserved place in the meta. It is also more SpD oriented than Roopushin. This are the points that should be looked at in the sets.

Machamp has always been a physical menace. Base 130 attack hits hard, and 90 HP backed by 80/85 Def/Sp Def means it can take hits, as well. It has No Guard, which is always a great ability for a DynamicPuncher, as well as Guts, which can just break opponents in two. But Base 55 speed holds him back a little, unless running a CS set, which even so, still leaves him a little behind.

No Guard is just great. Machamp (and it's opponent) gets 100% accuracy to all attacks. DynamicPunch, Stone Edge, Cross Chop, they'll always hit.Guts is pretty good too. It raises Machamp's scary Attack to frightening levels when statused. But No Guard is still great to run.Steadfast isn't very good. The speed boost is nice on Machamp, but flinches are all based on luck.

machamp(GREAT CHOICE=)

Machamp didn´t change much in generation shift.It was a member of the unlucky club who got an useless dream world ability and didn´t get any new remarkable attacks either.Instead it has fallen in the shadow of roopushin who has mach and drain punches.On the other hand Machamp has an wery useful ability NO-GUARD that raises all attacks on the field to full accuracy,Which makes dynamicpunch a wery wiable option. In the 4th gen also the elementa punches sneaked into machamp´s movesets also close combat on the guts sets andalso stone egde which benefits fromno guard.

Machamp has lost its glanse in this generation.Before it was the only pure figting type seen regulary in OU,now there´s roopushin and maybey kojondo too.

The best Machamp I think.... Dynamicpunach confuses everything not ghost.The base power is great too ,but the PP is a bit low.Stone egde gets useful coverage pummeling fliers and bugs who stay in play and stalls out d......Punch.Fire punch is for steels wth great def and secondary type such as forretress ,scisor ,nattorei and most importtantly skarmory .The last slot remains your choice,both moves covering machamps lackluster speed.Bullet punch is great for revenge killing weakened oppenents and payback gets a strong hit on ghosts who trie to block your stab attacks.

On the Psychical side machamp is pretty bulky ,so leftovers is a great item choice.

Evs and Natures
max attack in every angel.Could put either max speed or max hp depending on if you use payback.

This set includes a lotta hole pain!!Flame orb activates Guts and burns machamp in progress.Burn chips away some HP but machamps job is to killl (as fast *** possible:P
Because the loss of no-guard machamp should run close combat on this set.
Def drops just suck so you should be switching out a lot.Stone egde and fire punch brings great coverage in general ,this combo should notbe disturbed.Bullt punch revege killsand payback takes are of ghosts...........
Even If Machamp is fo pyre offense Fling can be an great option.Burn causes psychical walls a lot of trouble also causing some minor damgage.

Evs and natues
While having a burn active you cnt risk being hit by 1 extra hit.Max speed and attack.

Bulk up tanking have been difficult in this generation,but it still somehow works.Dynamicpunch makes your counters confused(an then they will run off)
which gives you time to set up.Fire punch and stone egde are for coverage.(i tend to be tired repeating myself).

Evs and Natures
Max speed and max attack or max hp for survival.

TEam mates
Tyranitar is an great teamate who resists Machamps both weaknesses.Try to avoid sandstorm with the flame orb variant;Ninetales and politoed can change weather while nine cloud altaria eliminates all weather.Also psychic tyes such as slowbro,claydol,and cresseia are great teamate;they lure bug and dark type attacks towards them whic machamp has easy to switch in.

Counters

Machamp is kind of hard to counter ,factoing that it can confuse its oppenent easily with D-punch.Slowbro has Own tempo and it resist fightning and has a awsome defense.Ghosts also wall machamp;Desukan totally ruins it with mummy and stab shadowball.

What's to say about Machamp? He got absolutely nothing this generation. Even his Dream World ability, Steadfast, is outclassed by his older options. That's not to say that he's bad by any means. His awesome ability, No Guard, is only shared by Golurk (love that name), who doesn't have the raw power or STAB on Dynamic Punch that Machamp does. Simply put, Machamp will be doing what it did last generation: No Guard Dynamic Punch. Here's a couple of my favorite sets, just thought I'd post 'em.

Oh, that guy again. Even though there's not such a defined lead metagame, this set can still get the job done. Yeah, we've all seen this one before so there's little use in explaining it. No Guard Dynamic Punch is amazing, and the confusion can screw over opposing leads. Payback is useful for faster leads, especially those with a weakness to Dark. Ice Punch was used back in the day to handle leads like Roserade and Dragonite with ease, although it still has merit now. I've found Stone Edge to be an equally impressive option, though. Bullet Punch lets Machamp beat Focus Sash users and do a little revenge killing on the side. The EVs are the same as the old 4th Gen set. However, those defensive EVs were mainly used to survive +Speed natured Azelf's Psychic, so since Azelf is nowhere near as common, the EVs for SpD could be moved. The others are for max Atk and enough speed to outspeed Blissey.

This set takes Machamp's raw power and adds impressive durability to it. With Rest and Leftovers, Machamp suddenly becomes much harder to kill. Sleep Talk will allow Machamp a couple of free attacks while it snoozes. Dynamic Punch and Stone Edge are the best options for the two attacks, as they offer excellent coverage together and, due to No Guard, will never miss. EVs allow for maximum bulk and power, with a little speed. As a side note, Guts would make a decent option for extra power on this set while you are asleep, in which case you would simply use Low Kick over Dynamic Punch. However, No Guard tends to be the better option because of instant damage/confusion in DPunch.

Wait…did he say ScarfChamp? You better believe it! This set brings a new light to Machamp as a fast killer. Most people will be expecting the slower, bulky sets, but this set will bring out a surprise by outspeeding an opponent's valuable Pokemon and killing it without fail. The moves provides offer excellent coverage, and a huge portion of the current OU are either weak to one of these moves or frail enough to die to one anyways. Max speed isn't really necessary for this set, so enough speed EVs are given to outspeed +Spe Base 105's (notably Zoroark), and the rest are used to max out attack and add a little bulk. This set actually makes a nice counter to SDChomp. Switch in as Garchomp dances, and then outspeed and kill him with Ice Punch. The best part is, not even Sand Veil can save ol' Chomp from Machamp's No Guard attacks. Call it a gimmick, but I love it.

It's worth noting that Goruggu is a hefty rival to Machamp. Sure, it might not have the same attack power or the STAB that DynamicPunch offers, but what it does have is a much better switch-in opportunity. It can shrug off Machamp's Paybacks as well, due to its equally snail-paced speed, and while Ice Punch will hurt like hell, Goruggu's major selling point as a No Guard user is his typing: Immunity to electric, normal and notably fighting is impressive, and STAB Earthquake can make a mess of Machamp. In many cases, a Champ/Goruggu showdown will result in either Goru winning or Machamp felling the phantom after taking significat damage.

Ok, well, um, the first obvious thing is to look at the differences between Champ and Roob.
Roob has higher HP by a considerable amount.
Of course, Roob has a tad more Attack. More Defence too.
Machamp has more Special Attack. lol
Finally, Roob has rather low SpDef for a Fighting type and is slower than Champ.

Both have Guts. Roob has Sheer Force and Iron Fist while Champ has No Guard and Steadfast.

So I think it's safe to say if in Gen 4 you had any reason to use Machamp besides No Guard or needing Bullet Punch, it's better off to Roob now. What Machamp has to offer, however, is possible mixed set and the higher Speed helps sometimes I guess. Basically, Machamp has more options, but Roob has more power with Machamp's "main" moves. I suppose Machamp can run "Roob's" sets if you're using them together - otherwise use Roob alone.

We finally get to put Machamp's decent SpAtk to use! Now being able to boost its SpAtk via Cheer Up, that Fire Blast Machamp has always had to roast the likes of Nattorei, Skarmory, Forretress, the like. As I have mentioned, I am having technical difficulties, so I shall leave it to you guys to calculate the SpAtk EVs needed. Rest in Atk, then remainder in either HP or Speed.
Cross Chop vs DynamicPunch is very controversial. DynamicPunch is often preferred for immediate effects, but should often be relegated for a more defensive role. If your team is more bent over offence, I suggest Cross Chop.

Other Options
I suppose with Choice Band, Machamp's Bullet Punch can nail the likes of Gengar and Alakazam, but that's pretty much it aside from No Guard STABs and Stone Edge, along with the ability to use Fire Blast. Additionally, with Roob's forgettable Speed, Machamp can use Choice Scarf more effectively.

Doubles/Triples/Rotation
Machamp has Helping Hand, and Encore and Knock Off make much more significant usage. As for Rotation... *looks at Roob*

I would like to propose that we should probably combine the articles for Luvdisc/Lumineon, and possibly combine them together with Pokemon like Wobbuffet, Unown, and Ditto. Not only will we cover mass Pokemon at once, thus saving time and allowing us to review more Pokemon by Gen 6, reviews for these Pokemon will be so concise that it's neglible to a normal-lengthed one.

These guys, of course, should probably be covered as far in as possible, or possibly as soon as possible to stall for Gen 5 ideas. Luvdisc/Lumineon can probably be done as a Valentine's combo.

This one's main advantage is Facade being at 140 Base Power, which should do a ton of damage. (Never personally tried it, though.)
Also, one of the Punches could even be replaced with Recycle, if Machamp can learn it (not sure about this one!).

Last edited by cooljolteon; 27th January 2011 at 11:50 PM.
Reason: sudden thought

Not your usual Machamp, but yup, t has a use. With No Guard, you will always hit your foe, and with that extra zip of your partner and Speed Boost with Baton Pass, you will be unbeatable. I'd suggest not to use Focus Blast, but that is there to help you.

Partners:
The two Pokemon with Speed Boost and Baton Pass, Ninjask and Blazikin, are your best bets. I'd use Ninjask, so you wouldnt have 2 Fighting types.

Counters:
The best counters would be speedy Psychic types, such as Alakazam. Also some bulky water types and also Pokemon with high Defences and HP.

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This one's main advantage is Facade being at 140 Base Power, which should do a ton of damage. (Never personally tried it, though.)

In theory, you have a good set here. But the problem is, Burn reduces the Attack stat, so it would be better with a Toxic Orb. For EVs and Nature, use Adamant with 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def/SpDef. Also, Ice Punch offers more vital coverage than ThunderPunch, since it takes down Dragons, Bulky Grounds and Grass Types that would otherwise handle Machamp. Thunderpunch just covers Flying and Water, and Stone Edge already handles Flying.

BU champ won't work with Roop around, unless we capitalise on it's advantages there is no point of using it over Roop(DP's hax is nice for setting up, but that alone won't beat the advantages of Mach Punch). And this is it's better SpDef:

Defensive BU, abusing never missing DP and SE, with good Special Defense able to take even STAB Psychics. Payback is an option since it's easier to stay in on those you'd hit with it, thanks to the SpDef investment. SpDef EVs can be geared to take hits from specific hits and the leftovers can be put into attack.

Guts Champ is one of the mons who beats Nattorei/Burungeru combo alone, though only if it runs Payback which is harder to pull of with the damage from Burn racking up. Main reason to use over Roop is the better SpDef, which allows it to beat Burungeru easier, forcing it out easier.

Fire Punch is not needed at all, only Scizor and Forretress are hit harder than by Dynamic Punch, both Nattorei and Skarmory are hit for the same damage by Dynamic Punch as Fire Punch.

Lead Champ while still nice, is much harder to pull off, since team preview exists, the advantage of it though is that lead champ can easily work outside of the lead position, so it still works, though Lum Berry is a questionable choice now, and can be replaced with either leftovers or Life orb depending on the team.

Same old, same old. Standard Machamp Lead that can really cause problems to most other leads. DynamicPunch is awesome on Machamp as it won't miss thanks to No Guard and always causes confusion. Payback OHKOes Gengar and is Machamp's best weapon for lead Azelf. Bullet Punch allows Machamp to beat most Sashed Leads if it can get a hit in beforehand. Stone Edge blasts most Flying types though Ice Punch gives a stronger hit on stuff like Salamence and Dragonite. It also picks up a 4x effective hit on Garchomp. EVs allow Machamp to live through most Azelf leads to take them out. It's important to note that Lead Kojondo has risen as a counter to most Machamp with Fake Out+Hi Jump Kick.

A basic Sub+3 Attacks set for Machamp that takes advantage of his good type coverage. DynamicPunch and Payback have great coverage together while Ice Punch and Stone Edge strike the flyers. Substitute eases prediction and protects Machamp from status attacks. Again, Kojondo is something of a counter to this set as it can usually break Machamp's Sub with Fake Out+U-Turn; leaving Machamp vulnerable to whatever comes in behind Kojondo.

Machamp didn't really gain anything this Generation except for a few more counters; namely Roobushin and Kojondo. Breloom has risen as a more dangerous physical sweeper with Technician, which gives Machamp an even harder time to find a team slot. Still, Machamp is definitely something to be wary of when making your teams as it can make you pay for not being ready for it with its massive base 130 Attack and No Guard ability.

This, in my opinion, is the standard way to go for a Machamp. Fling is to take out a psychic threat. Thunderpunch is a standard for taking out its other major threat: Flying. Superpower and Cross chop are both for the non threat pokemon. They also pose for good STAB moves

Magikarp Used Splash Attack!!!!!!

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Although Machamp isn't a great lead due to the absence of any entry hazards, it can hit with STAB DynamicPunch to confuse the opponent, then with a priority Bullet Punch. Also, this set doesn't have to be a lead. The Life Orb allows you to alternate between DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch.

In theory, you have a good set here. But the problem is, Burn reduces the Attack stat, so it would be better with a Toxic Orb. For EVs and Nature, use Adamant with 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def/SpDef. Also, Ice Punch offers more vital coverage than ThunderPunch, since it takes down Dragons, Bulky Grounds and Grass Types that would otherwise handle Machamp. Thunderpunch just covers Flying and Water, and Stone Edge already handles Flying.

You are right about Ice Punch, but Guts ignores burn's Attack reduction.